Scott Threlkeld/The Times-Picayune archiveJudge Wayne Cresap, right, who was arrested Friday by the FBI in a wire-fraud conspiracy, makes a call during the 2006 Louisiana Judicial College reception in Destin, Fla.

State District Judge Wayne Cresap of St. Bernard Parish arrested by the FBI on Friday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit wire fraud

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said the arrest resulted from "an ongoing corruption investigation by FBI and U.S. attorney's office."

"Cresap entered into an illegal agreement with unnamed lawyers in which Cresap accepted money to convert secured bonds to unsecured personal surety bonds, thereby allowing the releases of charged individuals on signatures, and without collateral security," a statement from Letten's office said.

The scheme to accept money to release suspects from jail "deprived citizens of his honest services in the course of his officials duties, " according to the charge against him.

Wayne Cresap

A sworn affidavit signed by FBI agent Todd Goodson mentions, but does not name, two lawyers. Cresap and Lawyer A "had an agreement in which (Cresap) would convert bonds for clients of Lawyer A in exchange for money," according to the affidavit.

FBI agents interviewed Cresap in a parking lot on April 9, and he admitted taking money from Lawyer A to convert bonds "on numerous occasions," the affidavit says. He also said he had a similar arrangement with Lawyer B, it says.

There was no explanation for why authorities waited two weeks to arrest Cresap.

The arrest itself was unusual for a white-collar defendant, however. In political corruption cases, federal authorities typically seek indictments, then arrange for defendants to surrender at court.

Street arrests, by contrast, are usually reserved for emergency cases where investigators suspect the defendant is going to flee or is a threat to others. There was no indication that this was the case for Cresap.

Letten said FBI agents arrested Cresap on Friday afternoon. At 7:30 p.m., he said Cresap remained in custody pending a bail hearing but he would not say where.

If indicted and convicted, Cresap faces a maximum prison term of 5 years and a $250,000 fine, although maximum sentences are rare in federal court. He could also be ordered to pay resitution, according to Letten's statement.

The FBI affidavit suggests the investigation began in February, if not earlier, and involved a review of Cresap's telephone calls. It does not say whether investigators had a wiretap to llisten surreptiously on the calls.

The accusations against Cresap are similar to those that sent two Jefferson Parish judges, Ronald Bodenheimer and Alan Green, to prison earlier this decade in the FBI's Wrinkled Robe investigation. The difference is that Bodenheimer and Green were accused of manipulating bonds in exchange for gifts not from lawyers but from a bail bonds executive, Louis Marcotte III, who also sent to prison.

Cresap, 62, has presided over the 34th Judicial District's Division C since October 1999, when he defeated Gregory Noto in a runoff to fill the term of the late Judge Melvyn Perez.

A Democrat from Poydras, Cresap was elected to a full six-year term in October 2002 and re-elected without opposition in October 2008.

Before winning election, Cresap was a longtime lawyer in St. Bernard Parish. He also served as St. Bernard's representative to the Regional Planning Commission from 1992 to 1997.

The state Supreme Court suspended Cresap without pay for 30 days in 2006 for violating judicial conduct rules. That came in connection with a 2002 hearing on the state Department of Natural Resources' request to remove a fellow St. Bernard judge from presiding at trial over oyster harvesters' claims that wetlands restoration projects destroyed their oyster beds. Cresap denied the motion to remove Judge Manny Fernandez from the case

The Supreme Court ruled that Cresap failed to remain neutral, had improper private communications with a state official and verbally abused a Natural Resources attorney during the three-day hearing. Cresap apologized to the Supreme Court and said he lost control of the 2002 hearing, but that he learned from the experience.. . . . . . .

Bob Warren can be reached at bwarren@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3363.